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Mayor and Council

District of Kitimat Council has one mayor and six councillors. They are responsible for local government services and policies and ensuring the District of Kitimat resources are used for the benefit and protection of its residents.

Mayor Phil Germuth

Phil Germuth is the Mayor of the District of Kitimat. He was elected as Mayor in 2014 after having served as a councillor since 2011. Phil is a true representative of Kitimat and brings an inspiring energy to new projects. Being born and raised and raising this three sons in Kitimat, he recognized the great potential of our community.

As an entrepreneur and licenced automotive technician, Phil has owned and operated an auto service shop in Kitimat since 1992. Phil is thrilled that two of his sons have decided to join him working at the shop. Phil understand what it takes to make a business successful as well as make a community healthy and vibrant for families, and he bring this knowledge to the office of the Mayor.

Mayor Germuth is a member of the Kitimat Gyro Club and in his spare time he enjoys connecting with community member, trying to make a golf ball go where he wants, and vacations that include hot sun, beaches and great snorkeling.

Community involvement

Councillor Empinado

Originally from Cebu City, Philippines, Councillor Empinado became the first Filipino Canadian to be elected as a Municipal Councillor in British Columbia in 2011.

Councillor Empinado entered the religious life and studied three years of Philosophy and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education majoring in Physics. Realizing the religious life was not meant from him; he left the seminary and went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He taught nursing for almost ten years at the University of San Carlos and at the same time studied and graduated with a Masters of Science in Nursing. In the early years of teaching, he managed three Mr. Donut outlets, had a distribution company for laundry soap and canned sardines and built and operated a com mill.

A love for nursing led Councillor Empinado to pursue his career in Dublin, Ireland where he worked as an operating room nurse. It was there that he met his wife Doris, and their daughter Diana Mae was born. In 2004, the couple accepted positions at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Finding Vancouver a difficult place to raise a young family, they began to look for a more family-friendly community and moved to Kitimat in January 2005 after both accepted positions in the operating room at the Kitimat General Hospital.

Councillor Empinado became the President of the Filipino Canadian Association in Kitimat and the contract steward for the BC Nursed Union at Kitimat General Hospital. He was then elected Steward Liaison and Member Educator for the BC Nurses Union of the Northwest.

The guiding principle for Councillor Empinado throughout his life has been: “Hard work, self-sacrifice, leading and living by example, member and community involvement, forgetting not who you are, and where you come from will always reap a good harvest”

Councillor Feldhoff

Councillor Feldhoff is serving his sixth full term on Council, having first been elected in a by-election in 1998. Mario was born and raised in Kitimat and believes Kitimat is on the cusp of significant economic growth and the accompanying dynamism last experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. He believes Kitimat to be an exceptional community with unparalleled potential.

Married to Brenda since 1985, they have three daughters. Councillor Feldhoff is a chartered accountant by profession with a BA majoring in Commerce from Simon Fraser University. He recently retired from a 25+ year career with Rio Tinto. His prior work experience included public accounting with KPMG in Vancouver, service with the BC Auditor General in Victoria and working for a privately owned logging company in Prince Rupert. Councillor has served on the Advisory Planning Commission, Museum and Library Boards, the Health Advocacy Group and is a strong advocate for economic development continuing to add to Kitimat's growth.

Councillor Goffinet

Councillor Goffinet is in his third term on council after spending four decades involved at all levels of electoral politics in northwest B.C. as a volunteer. He is a retired elementary school teacher who, over his 36 year career had taught multiple generations of Kitimat youth. He received a BA in Sociology and Political Science and his professional PDP training from Simon Fraser University.

Since being elected in 2008, Councillor Goffinet has held numerous portfolios including serving as liaison to the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce, Museum Board and Advisory Planning Commission. He has served with the Kitimat Health Advocacy Group since its inception and is currently. He is the also the Board Chair and a Director of his local church.

Councillor Goffinet sees Kitimat's future involving an expanded economic base of small businesses, including recreation and tourism focussed on Douglas Channel and the North Coast, as well as larger export-oriented industries which will continue to be the foundation of our community's economy.

When not involved in community matters, Rob loves to spend time with his wife, six children and eight grandchildren, most of who presently live in Kitimat.

Councillor Murphy

Councillor Murphy, who has called Kitimat home since 1955, is serving her second term on Council. She was born in Madeira, Portugal and values the choices and sacrifices her parents made in seeking better opportunities for their family in Kitimat.

Councillor Murphy and her husband Harry raised their two daughters in Kitimat and have been blessed with six grandchildren. They have enjoyed the beauty of our area growing up, especially the Douglas Channel. They had the pleasure of skiing all winter and boating all summer.

In February 2010, Councillor Murphy retired from Eurocan Pulp and Paper when the operation closed. She brings 34 years of industrial experience and a wealth of knowledge in a variety of positions, primarily in the health and safety field, as well as many years of experience as a management/labour activist to the table. She was the first woman to hold the position of President of CEP Local 298 in the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Councillor Murphy currently instructs health and safety programs and loves golfing, skiing, her animals but mostly spending time with her wonderful grandchildren and family. She looks forward to working with Council to promote environmental excellence, industrial and economic development, building relationships with the Haisla and our neighbouring communities to improve the quality of the life for the citizen of Kitimat. “Success is accomplished not by one, but by a hard working group/or groups”.

Councillor Rattée

Councillor Rattée is a first-term Councillor elected in November 2014. She lived in the Lower Mainland before moving to Kitimat in 2011 with her fiancé Oliver. Together they own a tattoo and piercing studio that serves clients throughout northwestern B.C.

Councillor Rattée is very passionate about art and loves working with all mediums. She is also the proud owner of two dogs: Brooklyn and Bronx.

Although the youngest member of Kitimat Council, she is highly ambitious and always looking for a new challenge – as evidenced by becoming a business owner at the age of 19 and a municipal councillor three years later.

Councillor Walker

Councillor Walker is in his first term as a Kitimat Councillor. He was formerly an elected official in Spruce Grove, Alberta.

Born and raised in Calgary, Councillor Walker loves the outdoors and especially fishing. His love of northwestern B.C. dates back to the late 1970s when his family travelled to Haida Gwaii every fall to fish for salmon. Several years ago, he and his wife Kathy decided to move to Kitimat to retire.

Previously, Councillor Walker worked in marketing and sales for a major U.S. railway. He was Manager of Transportation and Distribution for a major integrated forest products company in Alberta for eight years, and also spent a few years working in a federal prison.